My Travel Adventures

Today I got to undertake the tour because of which I had planned this whole journey. Having arranged for a private guide with my hotel, I was pleased to find out that he spoke English very well and enjoyed talking; throughout the day, I learned a great deal from him about local history, customs, and prejudices. As it happened, my guide turned out to be Hmong, which provided a valuable insight into life in Laos, as the Hmong are the country’s second largest minority group after the Khmu. I was told that both ethnicities are well represented in Xieng Khouang province, but they do not have their own schools because the only official language of instruction in the country is Lao.

It seems that the whole world meets in the small city that is Vientiane. Leaving the airport, one passes by big advertisement boards by Western beer brands and Chinese investment companies, after which a derelict Renaissance-style dome welcomes visitors to the town proper. Without making much of an effort, one can find both an American Centre and a Russian “Science and Culture Centre” on streets that still bear their French names. Thai and Vietnamese banks have a strong presence along the roads, which are traversed by public mini busses gifted by “the people of Japan” and tour busses from China and South Korea.

I saw most of the famous sights in Bangkok’s historic centre during my first two weeks in the city, and since then, I have been filling in occasional blanks. In early August, I set up a date close to the Grand Palace, as I realised I had not seen the Royal Clock Tower or the Drum Tower, and I wanted to view Wat Arun at sunset. On another date, I visited Lumphini Park, where I spotted several big monitor lizards and accidentally walked through wet cement in my excitement.